I Think I Know Who Won The Golden Bachelor Season 2 & I Don't Like It
Posted October 9, 2025
On the podcast, Mel stated that he only wanted to date women aged 45 to 60, and that he'd cut any women over 60 from his cast. In addition, he stated that he didn't want anyone with artificial hips or wigs in his cast. While Mel has the right to date whatever kind of woman he wants, fans immediately demanded that he be fired from
The Golden Bachelor season 2 because his demands didn't match the spirit of the show, which is for seniors to find love.
Mel's cast was originally made up of 23 women, aged 58 to 77. He apologized to them on premiere night, and they even had the chance to roast him for his comments during episode 3. Although it seems like water under the bridge for Mel and the women, the contestant who made the strongest connection with Mel is confirming that everything that he said in the podcast was true. If he chooses her, it will be problematic.
The Golden Bachelor Season 2 Contestant Nicolle Kate Is The Frontrunner To Win Mel Owens' Heart
Nicolle Is Everything Mel's Looking For
The following day, Terri Alani, a 71-year-old cosmetic dentist from Houston, Texas, confronted Nicolle about dominating Mel's time. However, Nicolle justified it by saying that she was sorry, but they were half-naked in the pool, and they kissed. Amy Kaplan defended her, stating that maybe she got caught up in the moment, which Nicolle agreed with, but Terri told her that she thought it was disrespectful.
In her confessional, Nicolle stated that she was a little surprised by how prim and proper the women seemed to be, but she suspected that, like in other parts of her life, she'd be the pioneer there, and they'd just follow. The childish drama among the women was disappointing to see, especially because
The Golden Bachelor season 1 barely had any conflict at all.
Later, during the Golden Bachelor season 2 episode 3 roast, Mel chose Nicolle to have dinner with him, where they bonded about their divorces. Nicolle was married twice, but she told Mel that she no longer thinks of her two divorces as failures. Mel then opened up to Nicolle about the story of his divorce, and they bonded about their breakups. They agreed that they had a connection, and Nicolle accepted his rose.
In his confessional, Mel stated that the chemistry between them was good, and it couldn't be manufactured or fought. They shared several kisses. At the end of episode 3, although Mel had made some strong connections with a few of the other women, it seemed clear that Nicolle was at the top of his list.
Mel's Choices Have Been Ageist
Although Mel apologized for his ageist comments, his choices during The Golden Bachelor season 2 have confirmed that he still stands by them. He's now eliminated every contestant over age 70, including Terri (71), Diane Firmani (71), Lily Reeves (72), and Andra Wicks (77). While one could argue that he didn't feel a connection with them, it's obvious that he hasn't had the chance to get to know any of the women well enough yet, especially Lily and Andra, who he sent home on night one.
Although many of the remaining women are younger than Nicolle, and he even eliminated 58-year-old Maia Dreyer, who was the youngest of all of the contestants on premiere night, Nicolle looks and acts much younger than her age. While there's nothing particularly wrong with that, in light of Mel's comments, the fact that he seems to be the most drawn to her reinforces all of his ageist comments.
When Mel chose Nicolle to have dinner after the roast, it seemed as though he was just humoring the other women during the group date because he intended to pick her the whole time. He was just going through the motions, and didn't truly give the other women a chance. Many of their comedy routines were just as funny and witty as Nicolle's, but he picked her.
I believe that Nicolle will probably win The Golden Bachelor season 2. She's a beautiful, confident older woman who should be proud of her accomplishments. However, if Mel chooses her based on his week 1 experiences before he really even knew her, then his apology about his ageist comments will seem like a lie because he obviously chose her due to her youthful demeanor and looks.
While Mel and Nicolle shouldn't deny their connection just to keep up appearances, their relationship proves that he wasn't honest about giving the older and/or less active women a chance. If
The Golden Bachelor season 2 ends with Mel choosing Nicolle, then fans will know that he meant every word that he said on the podcast.
Deke And Hope Remind Us Of An Often Missing Element On B&B—The Sibling Bond
Deke and Hope’s rapport in their first scene on The Bold and the Beautiful came out of left field, but it was nonetheless a welcome dynamic on the soap. They were playful with the kind of positive sibling energy that brought joy to the screen. It was a reminder that this daytime drama is at its best when family extends beyond parent-child bonds and marital partners.
Key Takeaways
Sibling relationships are a story element B&B should use more often.
Characters interacting with family members other than parents and children allows for more varied storytelling.
There’s less opportunity for repetitive back and forths when other dynamics are tapped into.
A Rarely Tapped Resource
It used to be that B&B was rife with sibling dynamics that ranged from heartwarming to toxic. But now it’s mostly The Logan sisters that we see step into the fullness of their family. Ridge (Thorsten Kaye) has several siblings, and yet he’s the only one of Eric’s (John McCook) or Massimo’s (the late Joseph Mascolo) children on the soap as a series regular.
Bridget (Ashley Jones), who is criminally underused, rarely has scenes with him. He and Nick (Jack Wagner) are about as friendly as vipers. Thorne’s (Winsor Harmon) stints on the show since Ingo Rademacher left the role are few and far between. Rick (Jacob Young) has only been referenced in passing. Not a word has been said about whether Felicia (Lesli Kay) still runs International. Zende (Delon de Metz) brought up his mother, Kristen (Tracy Melchior), but she hasn’t made an appearance since his wedding to Nicole Avant (Reign Edwards).
With so many Forrester siblings, you’d have thought it would have been all hands on deck when Carter (Lawrence Saint-Victor) and Hope (Annika Noelle) took Forrester, but it was crickets even with Bridget showing up for Christmas. The same goes for Thomas (Matthew Atkinson), Steffy’s brother, who would have been fully ready to protect the family legacy. Those two are quite the duo when they put their minds together, and have led more than one fun or disastrous scheme on the soap.
What’s great about tapping into B&B’s sibling energy is the ability to either lean into a high stakes rivalry for love, sometimes business, or show camaraderie during difficult times. We saw this with Liam (Scott Clifton) and Wyatt (Darin Brooks) over the years. The Spencer brothers were a highlight of the daytime drama because they could balance hurt with humor.
The storytelling would be so much richer with characters being able to bounce ideas off family members closer to their age at times. To be their confidantes or the person they yell at or plot with or vie for power against.
More Family Means More Story Opportunities
What made Deke (Harrison Cone) and Hope’s scene so enjoyable was the insight into a fresh dynamic on B&B. Deke, who has been so serious since he debuted, was lighter. Viewers got to see his interest in fashion. He wasn’t weighed down so much by the Luna (Lisa Yamada) plot and how Remy (Christian Weissmann) fits into this world.
Hope was a nosy, well-meaning sister while being earnest about seeking her brother’s help. Since RJ (Joshua Hoffman) was written out, she hasn’t gotten the chance to do that. It reintroduced a layer to her character that we don’t often see with Rick gone, too. Not to mention Hope and Bridget are kept at arms length on the soap because of the circumstances of Hope’s birth.
We’re likely to see more of Deke and Hope’s bond on B&B since he’s a young designer, and she’s in need of one for Hope for the Future. But it would be great if the daytime drama’s refocus on family includes more sibling dynamics than theirs and The Logans. Will (Crew Morrow) is going through a tough time in the Luna storyline. He could use scenes with his brother Liam. It’s doubtful we’ll see Marcus (Texas Battle), but it’d be nice for Carter (Lawrence Saint-Victor) to have his brother in his corner.
Bringing siblings in allows for varied story beats. It breaks up repetitive conversations between the same characters and allows for different perspectives. Their absence, or lack of mention, is often glaring like Karen’s (Joanna Johnson) from custody plots involving her grandson Douglas (Henry Samiri) and Bill (Don Diamont) briefly losing control of Spencer Publications to Justin (Aaron D. Spears). The story has more places to go when there are more players on the board.
